Adding too much value

Perhaps one small flaw or behavior we barely even recognize is the only thing that’s keeping us from where we want to be. In his book “What Got You Here Won’t Get You There”, Marshall Goldsmith has a “to stop” list rather than one listing what “to do”. This “to stop” list is designed to help us overcome our unconscious annoying habits and become more successful. Here’s one habit we can strive to overcome.

“Adding too much value” habit is common among leaders used to running the show. They still retain remnants of the top-down management style where their job was to tell everyone what to do. These leaders are smart enough to realize that the world has changed, that most of their subordinates know more in specific areas than they ever will. But old habits die hard. It is extremely difficult for successful people to listen to other people tell them something that they already knew without communicating someone that (a) “we already knew that” (b) “we know a better way.”

That’s the problem with adding too much value. Imagine you’re the CEO. I come to you with an idea that you think is very good. And then you say “Good idea, but it’d be better if you tried it this way.”

The problem is, you may have improved the content of my idea by 5%, but you have reduced my commitment to executing it by 50%, because you have taken away my ownership of the idea. That’s the fallacy of added value. Whatever we gain in the form of a better idea is lost many times over in our employees’ diminished commitment to the concept.

That does not mean bosses have to zip their lips. But the higher up you go in the organization, the more you need to make other people winners and not make it about winning yourself.

For bosses, this means closely monitoring how you hand out encouragement. Even better, before you speak, take a breath and ask yourself if what you’re about to say is worth it.